Feeding means for bottle-capping machines.



s. KAYE. v FEEDING MEANS FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23.1914.

Patented Oct. 1, 1918.

2 5HEETSSHEET I S. KAYE.

FEEDING MEANS FOR BOTTLE CAPPING MACHINES.

M v APPLICATION FILED JULY 23.]914. I 1 4 I Patented Oct 1, 19121 2 SHEETS SHEET 2.

vi rniaanfr m t rat aifl o th Il'ilfilf llllihifil EVIJEAIG'S EUR, BOTTLE-CAPPING MAOEINES.

Application filed July 23, 1914.

Mississippi, have invented certain new and useful ln'iproveinents in Feeding Means for Bottlelapping Machines, of which the following is a specification.

lviy invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for feeding crowns or caps .to bottle-capping macl'iinery The ehjec; is to provide a cap or crown eder large capacity, which will insure ie proper positioning and presentation of fie caps crowns to the bottle-capping manine; to supply the latter as fast they are required; and to insure against overtced and clogging of the machine by providing relief for supernunierary caps or crowns, should the capacity of the bottlecapping mechanism be exceeded.

With the foregoing objects in view, my invcntioiconsists-of a novel feed comprising an inclined feed-chute, a sorter, and a receiving-dru1n having an inlet 1n its side, the length of which approximately corresponds to the width of the inclined feedchutc. This drum and sorter revolve in con nection with a stationary casing which a a a h eimci partly surrounds them, which casing is surmounted on. 'a suitable base or support, and which drum acts in conjunction. with the inclined. iced-chute to alternately receive and cut oil the flow of caps from the chute into the drum, the caps at the lower end of the inclined chute bedding themselves against he drum, as the latter revolves, in position to fall through the inlet into the interior of the latter as the inletriscs to them and the drum has capacity to receive them, or to he exchidcd if the capacity of the drum to recei\ c them shall have reached its limit and they have reached a height in the drum to keep the inlet closed. From this rcceivingdrum the caps or crowns work their way over into "hc sorter which is of greater diameter than the drum, and in which they are tumbled about and finally received by suitable means, when presented in proper Specification 02 Letters Patent.

Patented t ct, ll, Serial No. M23723.

position, preparatory to discharging them! supplies the bottle-cap- 1nt0 the chute which ping machine.

In the accompanying drawings 1-,

Figures 1 and 2 are views in elevation from opposite sides of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a plan viewpartly in horizontal section; and

Fig. 4 is a detail View in section showing some of the sorting, lungs, in perspective.

The numeral 1 represents the receivingdrum, one end of which has a head 2 with an orifice 3 through the center which reeoivcs a sleeved. This sleeve has a flange 5 at one end by which it is secured to some stationary part of the machine. The shaft 6 extends through and is journaled in this sleeve 4-. having a bevehgear 7 at one end through which rotary motion is imparted to the shaft. The drum is provided with an inlet 8 in the form of anelongated slot in one side thereof, through which the caps C from an inclined feed-chute 9 are received as the drum turns and the inlet reaches the lower end of the inclined 'feedchute, where the caps have beenheld by the revolving surface of the drum, until the inlet reaches and passes through the bed of caps formed between the lower end of the chute 9 and the surface of the drum, when the latter receives as many as flow in to replenish the drum. If, however, the drum has already been filled to a point where the inlet 'is covered, or nearly covered by the caps within lhodrum, the caps are then rejected until the level within the drum has suiiieiently lowered to leave the inlet open sul'lieiently for the entrance of more caps, when the drum makes further complete revolutions.

The outer end of the. receivingndrum is flared, as at 11, forming the inner end of the sorter S, and at the outer edge of this flared portion the undercut sorting lugs 12, 12, are radially arranged. A dished head 1% coastitutes the outer member of the sorter S, and has a central hub to receive the outer end oi. the shaft 6 upon which it is removably held by any approved means, as for instance the swing-actuated pin 15. This head is circa lid la r in form, and is soconstructed and its d ameter is sutiicient so that when in position it rests against the sortingdugs and closes the outer sides of the latter, where it is secured to the flared portion 11 of the drum, so that the sorter and drum are to all intents and purposes a single member of the machine, although made in two parts secured together.

Beyond the lugs, the edge of the dished head 14 extends sufiiciently far to form a channel 17 for the caps in cooperation with the flange 18 on the casing 16. This channel only extends part way around the eriphery of the sorter, the filler 21 filling a portion of the channel, and the upper portion of the casing 16 of the machine being cut away, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Within the sorter a number of pinsor similar devices 22, 22, are secured for the purpose of agitating the caps or crowns as they are tumbling about the sorter, to cause them to present themselves in the right p0 sition to pass between' the sorting-lugs.

A hopper 10 is stationed above the inclined feed-chute 9 to supply the caps or crowns to the latter.

A brush 23 is located in position above the drum (as shown in Fig.1) to brush back and prevent any caps which might happen to catch in the inlet 8 from passing on around with the drum.

The drum and sorter revolve in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2. The caps are received in their proper position where they have dropped by gravity between a number of sort ng-lugs 12, 12, (as shown in Fig. 2), out of which they drop one by one into the channel 17 as the latter is reached, lining up one above another preparatory to entering the chute'19 which leads to the capping mechanism well-known but not shown.

Should the caps accumulate in the channel faster than they are taken by the cap pingmechanism, and in any way become lodged or fastened to the caps between the sorting-lugs and moved upward, they always find escape over the edge of the cutaway portion of the casing 15 back to the chute 9, where they are in time received again into the drum. This, however, does not generally occur, as the caps between the sorting lugs rarely ever disturb the caps in the channel but freely drop back into the sorter when moving around the upper portion of the sorter.

From the foregoing, it will be understood that the feed-hopper 10 is adapted to afford a continuous supply to the inclined feedchute, which rests at the bottom upon the traveling surface of the drum where the caps are in readiness to drop into the drum each time the inlet 8,1'eturns with a revolution of the drum and sorter, (providing me ia? the latter are not already filled to capacity) in which event the drum automatically re jects any additional caps by reason of the caps within effecting a complete or partial closure of the inlet 8. So long as this ,occurs, no more caps are needed or received, but when the level within decreases and the inlet is' free to receive more caps, they de scend from the chute through the inlet thereinto by gravity as the inlet passes through the bed of caps or crowns.

Thus the caps are fed into the drum and sorter auton'iatically, and in this way an over-supply is impossible, and the level within the drum and sorter is maintained'practically uniform .and'constant at all tunes, so that neither cessation nor excess of feed is possible so long as the hopper 10 is supplying caps and crowns to the machine. The

sorter meanwhile is doing its work with precision, always presenting as many or more caps in proper position as the channel 17 can accommodate, and the sorter receivin back the oversupply of caps when the c annel happens to be crowded or full above a. certain point.

From the foregoing it will be seen that l have provided a machine of unusually large capacity, which takes the caps as they are tab tilt

the drum, after which, with the further roj tation of the drum, the chute is closed by the drum while the inlet is closed by the casing until it again reaches the lower end of the chute.

lie

2. A feeding means for bottle-capping machines comprising a feed-chute, a casing, a hollow.drum rotatably mounted in said casing, and having an orifice 1n the side thereof, said casing being open' above the.

chute, and means on the casing for brushing excess caps from the surface of the druni back toward the chute.

3. Feeding means forbottle capping machines comprising a chute, a casing, and a combined drum and sorter, the drum hollow and cylindrical and fitted to turn in the casing, and provided with an inlet, the sorter located at one end of the drum, in communication, therewith and of greater diameter than the drum, the drum having an inlet for the caps which intermittently presents meme? itself at the lower endof the chute whereby as the supply of ca 3 is out 0% b the body the drum is fed, the cylindrical Eortion of of the drum at the ower end of e chute. the drum thereafter closing the c ute' while In testimony whereof a my sleture the caps are moving into and arranging 1n the presence of two witnesses. themselves by gravity in the sorter after I i which the inlet re-presents itself at the lower Witnesses:

end of the chute to admit additional .caps T. B. Bnowmgr,

into the drum, which caps are again sorted O. P. NASH. 

